Wrap Your Arms Around Me
by Peninsula Girl
Summary: Snape decides to go fishing for a woman; using peculiar bait... Here's chapter 7. Story's finished now! Have fun...
1. About An Unexpected Visitor

Author's note: Do I still need to write this down? *sigh* Well, all right then: the world of Harry Potter does not belong to me, but to JK Rowling. Not that any trace of Harry Potter can be found in this story. *grin* 

The characters of Justin and cousin Ernestine are mine, though. 

The ingredients of this story are: Snape, a little boy and a beautiful woman. Oh, and a restaurant, but not until later chapters. This is the first humorous Snape story I've written. Or at least, it's meant to be funny…

PS: It hasn't been beta-ed, for I came up with this idea so suddenly. If you'd like to beta me, you can always contact me at Peninsula_girl@hotmail.com.

Thanks for reading and reviewing! 

****

Wrap Your Arms Around Me 

**__**

Chapter one: About An Unexpected Visitor

Severus Snape was sitting at his desk. Class was over, but he was still not alone. In a corner of the classroom, a small boy was on his knees, trying to clean up the sticky mess he'd made by letting his cauldron explode. Every single year he warned those kids not to add the squid eyes too soon, but there always seemed to be at least one boy or girl in every class who wanted to see what would happen anyway. As the boy was looking at him sheepishly, the potion was everywhere; on the boy's table, dripping onto the floor, and luckily a large gulp had hit the boy himself. Snape had already taken his wand to clear the mess up quickly himself, when he decided to let the boy clean it up manually. 

A soft scraping sound; the boy had silently approached him and was now standing shyly at his desk. "Professor Snape?"

"What is it," he growled.

The boy was trembling a bit, he saw. That was good, that was just fine.

"Sir, um… could I go now, please? It's just that the Hogwart's Express will be leaving in an hour, and I still have to pack."

"Is that so?" Snape replied. "Well, it seems then you'll have to find some other means of transport to your cosy little home for Christmas, doesn't it?"

He was drumming his fingers on the table and looked at the boy, who was trembling even more by now. Then, he saw the boy's eyes being filled with tears, and heard a stifled sob.

He groaned inwardly. O no. No crying children just before his holiday would start. He'd really had enough of this. Tiredly he waved his hand toward the door. "Go, boy. Just leave now. Pack and go home."

For a brief moment the boy stood still before his desk, as if he couldn't believe what luck he was having right now. Then, as if he was afraid that the Potion's Teacher would change his mind, he quickly turned around and headed for the door. "Thanks, Professor!" he said.

"Yes, yes," Snape sighed.

Finally he was alone. He didn't think he could cope with these little brats for one more day. Especially the last two weeks before Christmas, they all were so excited about the coming holiday, babbling about presents and candy, that it was practically impossible to penetrate those little minds with anything useful.

But now, finally, his holiday would start. He'd seen some interesting potion recipes he wanted to try out. But first he needed sleep. Lots of sleep.

He took his wand and with one quick movement the rest of the mess was cleared up. Then he headed toward his private quarters.

When he stepped in, he wanted to walk over to his bed, but he stopped in mid motion. Something was lying on the rug before the hearth. Something or… somebody? Slowly he walked over to what appeared to be a bundle of cloth. When he bent over, he saw it was a child, wrapped in a blanket. Three, four years old, just a toddler. And it was sleeping like it always slept on other people's rugs.

What on earth—

Then he saw the envelope on the mantle piece. It was buzzing a little bit, like it was charged with electricity. Carefully he picked it up and turned it round and round. There was no sign of who wrote it. When he opened it, a flash of lightning came out of the envelope. It searched its way through the room, finding the shortest path towards the hearth, and out through the chimney. It went so fast that Snape couldn't possibly follow it with his eyes. He blinked for a moment, and looked at the envelope again, where a soft rumbling sound was coming out now, like far away thunder. 

That had to be a letter from his cousin Ernestine. She had had this trademark since she finished her study on Lightning Magic. Cousin Ernestine, the Pride and Joy of his family. They went to the Magical University together, he studying Potions, and she Lightning Magic. Everybody in the family was thrilled when she showed what she had learned; flashlights appearing from everywhere. 

He detested her area of study. It seemed to him that it was only about some quick and cheap effects. She found his area of study dull. How little did she understand of potion making! 

He took the letter out and read:

__

Dear Severus,

Long time since you've heard from your cousin Ernestine, isn't it? Sorry for just busting into your place, but I was kind of desperate. This is Justin, my son, as you probably will NOT remember…

I'll have to leave him here with you for the coming week, for we've finally got the opportunity to try out this new lightning spell. There's an enormous thunderstorm heading towards Scotland, and we just have to go up there. Of course it's a tad dangerous, and we wouldn't want our little Justin to be hurt. Unfortunately, everybody I know who could take care of him, wants to see the spell working, so there's only you who I can ask to take care of Justin. 

He likes cookies, and please watch out, for he's quite a little wizard already. Keep your wand away from him; he loves to play around with it.

Have a great time with Justin; see you in a week!

Love, Ernestine.

No. Nononono, this couldn't be true. Did she just leave her child with him? For a week? Without any notice before? Was she mad or what? 

"This certainly says a lot about your mother instincts, Ernestine," he muttered to himself. "Bringing your son to me, of all people."

As he refolded the letter, he heard stirring from the bundle of cloth, and then a soft sigh. The child, Justin, was waking up. Sleepy he sat upright, yawned, rubbed his eyes, looked around, saw Severus. And began to cry.


	2. About Making A Grocery List

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Chapter two: About Making A Grocery List

Snape sank down onto his bed, looking equally shocked at the boy as the boy looked at him. He searched his mind to think of a sensible thing to do, but the truth was, he couldn't think of any situation remotely like this one.

Reluctantly he walked over to the child. "All right, just be quiet now. Don't cry, it's all right," he said, as he patted the little boy on the back. That didn't help much; Justin started to cry even louder, and it took some time before Snape, who had tried to sound as friendly as he could, realized that he had forgotten to adapt the expression of his face. 

"All right," he grumbled. "What do children want? Cookies, Ernestine said. Let's see…" He wove his wand and a plate with cookies appeared on the little table before the hearth. At once, Justin stopped crying, stood up and walked unsteadily on his little legs over to the plate. Snape sank onto the bed again and sighed. Silence at last. He watched the child as it was eating. The cookies were vanishing in an enormous fast tempo. After he'd finished the last cookie, Justin turned round and looked at Severus. "Milk?" he asked.

"Dear Uncle Severus, Could I Have Some Milk Please?" Severus muttered with a frown. Then he looked around. He was not the milky-type of person. 

"Milk?" Justin repeated. 

"Yes yes, will you just be patient? I'll see what I can do for you." Snape was scanning the shelves as he said this. "I'm sure it must be somewhere… ah, there it is." He took a bottle of unicorn milk and opened it. "Now don't spoil it, this is an extremely valuable ingredient and…"

Justin had already taken the bottle and was emptying it with large, thirsty gulps.

"Right, there goes my unicorn milk. Thanks ever so much, I'll have to charge that with your beloved mother Ernestine," Snape said.

"Mummy?" Justin said now.

"She's not here right now, I wish she was," Snape said with another sigh. "Oh no, please don't start crying all over again," he added hastily when he saw the child's expression. "She'll be back soon, really." 

Unless she was involved in a terrible accident right now. For all he knew, she could be struck by lightning at this very moment. Part of him wished it to be true.

Justin kept sobbing a bit as Snape paced up and down the room. "Right, what shall I do now? I need some… children's things, I suppose. I'll just have to ask somebody."

He walked over to Justin and picked him up. "Come with me, I'll take you to a nice lady," he said, and this time managed to force a smile. Then he carried him all the way to McGonagall's office.

When they entered, Justin cried out: "A cat, a cat, look!" 

"Minerva, will you transform; I need your help right now," Snape said impatiently to the cat.

With a whooshing sound, the cat turned into the stern woman that was McGonagall.

"Well, what do we have here?" Minerva said, but before she could say anything else, Snape had boldly handed Justin over to McGonagall's.

"This is Justin," he said. "It seems I have to take care of him for the week, but I'm rather… unprepared, I'm afraid. Please tell me what I should do." Snape twitched his fingers; clearly asking for help was not his favourite occupation.

Minerva looked at Justin with an awkward smile. Justin gave her a broad smile, and cried out: "Cat, cat, you was cat!"

"Severus, may I ask… is this child perhaps… yours?" McGonagall asked as she lifted an eyebrow and smiled slightly.

Snape gave her a look that made her smile vanish instantly. "So it's not yours," she concluded. "But why are you asking me for help about a child? Not just because I'm a woman, I hope?" McGonagall asked with a weary expression, "For then you've chosen the wrong woman; I know nothing about little children. But I suggest they need diapers." She held Justin at arm's length, as if to decide what side should be up and what side down.

"Well, where can I come by those?" Snape asked impatiently, "Diagon Alley certainly doesn't supply for them."

"My guessing is that you'll need to visit a Muggle store."

Snape looked perplexed at Minerva. "No, not a Muggle store, please. I've been there before, there are nosy people staring at you, and asking questions that are none of their business."

"You mean questions like: 'Can I help you, sir'?" Minerva asked. "They're probably just trying to be friendly, Severus. I'm surprise your thunderous looks didn't scare them off."

Snape sighed. "Well, I guess I have no other choice. Blasted Ernestine with her ideas. What else will I need besides diapers?"

"Hmm, let's see… toys I suppose, and little children's food. Cookies and milk, that sort of things."

Snape had taken a quill, and was writing as Minerva tried to think of more things that he would need. "All right, I'll be off then," he said. "Could you please take care of the kid while I'm away?"

Minerva looked terrified. "No no, definitely not. I have other plans, like um… I need to…" She quickly handed Justin over to Snape.

"I can't possibly take him with me!" Snape cried out.

"Of course you can," Minerva said reassuringly. "He looks cute, I bet he won't be of any trouble at all."

Snape grumbled as he lifted Justin up and carried him out of Minerva's office. "Dada," Justin said to McGonagall. 

"Yes, I bet you'd like to have that job too, don't you?" Snape said distractedly.

***

To be continued…


	3. About Cookies, Women & Jungle Book

**__**

Chapter three: about Cookies, Women & Jungle Book 

Now this was going to be tricky. Snape had decided to disapparate from Hogsmeade, and to apparate in a department store. The only place he could apparate unseen, was in a dressing room. "Now let's just hope that it's empty," Snape sighed. He didn't want to think about what would happen if some middle aged man was in there, trying to fit his belly into trousers that were too tight. He held Justin tight, and there they went.

With a soft popping sound they apparated in a dressing room. It was empty, to Snapes relief. Quietly, he slipped out of the dressing room. Justin jawned; obviously he was used to apparating. It was the middle of the day, and the store was filled with women strolling around. Snape was quite an exception. Primarily for he was male, but secondary because of his clothes. Several women stopped and looked at him, but Snape took absolutely no notice of them. 

"Uncle Sev, uncle Sev, I wanna cookie," Justin said with a whining voice. 

"Not now, boy," Snape said, as he desperately was looking around where he could find what he needed. "Excuse me, woman," he said to an elderly woman that was busy filling the shelves, "Where can I find the… children's… things?"

"Children's supplies, sir, second store," the woman replied. Then her face lit up as she saw Justin. "O, aren't you just an adorable little child," she said, and tickled Justin under his chin. "What's your name, love?"

"I'm Justin," the boy said. "Uncle Sev, Justin have cookie now?" he asked again, this time the volume a bit louder.

"Young man, your uncle cannot magically make cookies turn up from nowhere," the woman now said sternly to Justin.

"Yes he can," Justin said earnestly. 

The lady shook her head. "Children…" she said.

Snape groaned and picked Justin up. "Come on, you're going with me," he said.

By the time they had finally reached the department of children's supplies, Justin had had three more cookies, and he contentedly started to sing along with the video that played there. 

"I bet you want to watch television, do you?" Snape asked hopefully. Justin nodded cheerily and Snape planted him onto one of the little chairs before the television. "You stay here as I look around for stuff you need," he said. Justin didn't hear him anymore; he was absorbed by the video by then.

Quickly Snape scanned the racks and picked what he needed. 

When he returned to the TV, Justin was still singing along loudly with the songs of Jungle Book. He was surrounded by three women, and they were all smiling. "Hello," one of them said to Justin, "Aren't you just the sweetest, loveliest kid I've ever seen? Where's your mummy?"

"She's gone," Justin said, barely taking his eyes away from Mowgli. 

The woman looked startled. "Oh…" she said, hesitatingly. "Who are you with, then?" 

Snape stepped forward. "He's with me," he said.

"Hi uncle Sev, we going now?" Justin asked. 

The young woman's eyes shifted from Justin to Snape, and back to Justin again. Then she smiled. The other women were smiling too. "How wonderful it is to see a man like you spending time with his nephew," another woman said. Snape had already stretched his hand to pick Justin up from the chair, when he met the woman's eyes. She gave him a friendly smile and then stepped toward him. She put her arm on his shoulder and added confidentially: "I wish there were more men like you."

Snape blinked. What exactly was going on here? Was she talking to him? Since when did women talk so friendly to him, and, if that weren't enough since when did women tell him he was a wonderful man?

He looked around. All three women were smiling at him. Slowly, his mouth curled up.


	4. About A Cunning Plan

**__**

Chapter four: About A Cunning Plan

Snape sat in his chair and drank his whiskey. He had a terrible headache, and the time he had spent with his new nephew Justin didn't make it any better. It had been a long day. He had no idea that changing a toddler's diaper would be such an extraordinary fatiguing task; especially since Justin didn't seem to be able to lie still for longer than, say, three seconds. Snape had seriously considered using the _petrificus-_spell, when Justin suddenly had decided to keep quiet. Snape didn't know why, but it could have something to do with the look on his face at that particular moment; the look that would cause even an attacking tiger to reconsider his plans and lie still too. After Snape finally had changed the diaper, Justin had got hold of Snapes wand, and before Snape really understood what was happening, Justin had started a little fire on the mantelpiece. Ernestine had been right; Justin was quite a little wizard already. Apparently, aiming was not his forte yet.

Snape sighed, and took another sip of his whiskey. He looked at the corner of the room, where Justin was fast asleep. Getting him to sleep hadn't been easy too; Justin claimed to have a whole ritual of songs and storytelling before he could go to sleep, so Snape had had no other option that to sing songs, and tell stories; activities that weren't easy to do through gritted teeth. Unfortunately the stories that Snape chose to tell, proved to be far too scary for Justin, so when the boy had crawled under the blankets after a story about vampires and refused to come back again, Snape had got the idea to read from a Potion book. Within two minutes, Justin was sleeping like a sweet little angel.

Snape felt like he'd never deserved a glass of whiskey more than now. He deserved it because the boy finally slept- and because this day a plan had come up to him. It was probably the best plan he'd had in several years, and he owed it to the non-existing mother instinct of his beloved cousin Ernestine. 

The plan had hit him at the department store; it had struck him like the lightning he had wished for Ernestine. While he was standing there, holding diapers and cookies, with all those women practically crawling over him, he saw it. He saw that he could make use of Justin. He could use the little child as bait, and catch every woman that happened to be in their presence. Justin seemed to work like some kind of aphrodisiac, and who was he, not to give those poor women what they obviously needed: the tender affection of a loving and caring single parent?

Of course he would have to prepare things well. To begin with, he would have to take Justin to a place where women were present. And it had to be a Muggle woman, obviously, for any magical woman would immediately recognise him as the Potions Teacher of Hogwarts. The biggest problem would be how he could get rid of the little boy after he'd found a woman. He certainly wouldn't want him in the way at the moment that serious business began.

Another minor problem was, that he couldn't take the woman to Hogwarts; for she just wouldn't be able to see it. He had to find another place, perhaps a hotel, or at her place. Only where would he leave Justin?

The night passed and Justin slept, unaware of the plans that his uncle was making. When daylight broke, Snapes plan was ready. It was good, and he was very satisfied.


	5. About Apple Juice... And Fishing

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Author's Note: Thanks to Katherine & Penance for reviewing so far. I'm glad you liked it!

And Penance, the title will become clear… eventually. ;-))

Now enjoy:

**__**

Chapter five: About Apple Juice… And Fishing

"Look, uncle Sev, that's a flower." Justin was pointing at their table, where a distasteful plastic flower stood in a small vase. 

"That's nice, Justin," Snape replied, almost without looking at the boy. Justin had showed a remarkable and extremely boring talent for not only noticing all kinds of details, but to also naming every thing he saw. 

"Look, uncle Sev, that's a straw," Justin resumed his business of naming everything.

"That's nice, Justin. Now be a good boy and drink your apple juice." If the boy would name one more item, Snape would really have to restrain himself from shaking the kid up and down. But he had to control himself; it was for a good cause. His eyes scanned the restaurant once more. They had been in here for half an hour now, and he still hadn't seen any suitable woman. There were lots of businessmen, travellers, and some women, but always in groups, and he wouldn't want to start too fast. Fishing you have to learn by catching little ones at first; it would be useless trying for a whole school at once.

Perhaps this was not a good night. If he waited much longer, the kid would probably be too tired, and in case he would still find a woman this night, Justin could spoil it by whining the whole evening because he needed to sleep.

What if they just went home now, and tried another restaurant tomorrow?

"Look, uncle Sev, that's a woman," Justin said.

"That's nice, Ju- what did you say?" Snape looked up. Justin was right. A woman had entered the restaurant and was now walking past their table. She gave Justin a slight smile as she walked by. Then she sat down at the table behind Snape. That was good, she would have full view of Justin then. And eventually she would see Snape too, undoubtedly.

Justin took another sip of his apple juice, and tried to drink it without the straw. 

"Use the straw, Justin, or you'll spill your juice," Snape said.

Justin looked up and smiled. "Justin's a big boy, can drink by myself." To prove it, he lifted the glass with both his little hands and brought it up to his mouth.

"Justin, look out!" Snape cried out, but it was too late. The glass had slipped out of Justin's hands and toppled over. Apple juice was streaming over the table, and over Severus' knees. 

"Look what you've done, boy," he snapped at Justin, whose cheeks were red now. "Didn't I tell you to—"

"Can I help?" a friendly voice said next to him. When Snape looked up he gazed into the stunning blue eyes of the woman. She smiled, and was holding a napkin. Snape started to get up.

"No, just sit down, and I'll help," the woman continued. Snape looked at her as she started to wipe the apple juice off his robe.

"Kids…" she said, and she gave Justin a slight smile. "So clumsy sometimes, aren't they?"

"Yes, kids," Snape replied, staring at the woman. She had long, blond hair, friendly green eyes, small glittering earrings. She was gently wiping his knees with a beautiful hand, with manicured nails. No ring. Then she looked at him, and when she smiled, he noticed a perfect set of teeth. He was extremely lucky; she looked like a model that just had stepped off the catwalk. She was the perfect fish, and she started to bite already.

"What's the matter?" she asked, with a half-smile. "What are you looking at?"

"I'm sorry if I'm staring," he said hastily, "It's just…I've got the feeling I've seen you somewhere before." O no, that was NOT a good sentence he was blurting out there. Probably the oldest, most commonly used coming-on trick. Had he lost his repertoire already?

But she was smiling understandingly. "O, I see," she said, "I get that a lot. You've probably seen me in some magazines. I'm a model, you see."

"You are? Well, that explains it all, then," said a relieved Snape. 

Then a frown appeared between her beautiful eyes. "Only… not anymore, I'm afraid. I've just quit my job." She looked as if she could start crying any minute. "I couldn't take it anymore, you see. The constant competition, all the people wanting things from you, just because you happen to be beautiful. I couldn't bear it anymore. It's a world where all people pretend to be somebody else than they really are." 

"O dear," Snape said understandingly. "So sorry to hear that." His sympathising words now brought the tears out of the woman. "It's all right, don't cry," he quickly added. "Do you, by any chance, like the company of a man and a small boy to cheer you up, and join our table for diner?"

She looked at him with hesitation, tears glistening on her cheek. "Well sir, that's very friendly of you, but I don't know you at all, and…"

"That's a problem we can solve easily," Snape said. "I'm Snape. Severus. Severus Snape. And this little boy is Justin."

The woman looked from Snape to Justin, and then back to Snape. She smiled. "I'm Emily," she said. "And I _do_ want to join you."

Quickly, Snape pulled a chair towards the table and Emily sat down.


	6. About Fish And A Wish

A/N: Thanx again for the reviews! They're encouraging. Furthermore, the author would like to state that no women were actually hurt during the writing of this chapter. Neither were young boys. ;-))

**__**

Chapter six: About Fish and A Wish

Emily proved to be quite nice company. She told Snape about her job that she quit. It turned out that she really HAD run out of the catwalk, just like he imagined. What were the odds of that? Snape managed to nod and smile at the right times, adding some hm-hm's and is-that-so's when necessary.

"Are you a mummy?" Justin suddenly asked. He was wearing his cutest little smile, to Severus' utter contentment.

"Not yet, dear, but once I hope to be one," Emily blushed. "I think it's wonderful to be a mummy."

"Taking care of a child is," Snape explained hastily, "by far the most rewarding experience a person ever can have."

"O, I'm so convinced that that's true," Emily replied as she nodded earnestly.

"So Justin, where's your mummy?" she asked then. 

"My mummy's gone. She's looking at the clouds," Justin explained. "Can I go play now, Uncle Sev?"

Without waiting for an answer, he jumped off his chair and headed toward the aquarium at the back of the restaurant. He pressed his little nose against the glass, looking at all the fish.

Emily looked at Snape, a little puzzled.

Snape leaned forward, shot a look over his shoulder to make sure that Justin couldn't hear him, and said softly: "His parents are… not with us anymore, alas."

Emily slowly shook her head and there was that beautiful frown of hers again. 

"They were both killed in a terrible accident," Snape continued. "Struck by lightning, both dead, just like that." He snapped his fingers.

"Gosh," Emily whispered. She had tilted her head a bit, and was biting her lower lip. She was buying it. She was buying it completely.

"Such a tragic loss for everybody, and the most for Justin," Snape continued. "They were wonderful people. Of course I immediately insisted in taking care of the boy."

"Aw, that's so noble of you," Emily said.

"Well, no, it's just family love, you see," Snape replied. "And the kid's such a pleasure to be with. I couldn't imagine my life without him anymore." They both looked at Justin, who was still standing by the aquarium, pretending to be a fish, opening his mouth and closing it again.

"How is he under the circumstances?" Emily asked.

"Oh, basically he's all right, but he keeps thinking his parents will come back one day. He tells everybody that his parents are looking at the clouds now. I ignore this as much as possible. Don't want to traumatise the boy even more." Snape tried to look concerned, and Emily shook her head again. "Poor, poor boy," she said. "And how lucky he is to have an uncle like you." Was that a tear in her eye? Snape smiled at her, and made sure not to look too happy.

A waitress approached their table. "Can I take your orders?" she asked friendly.

"I'll have the squid, please," Snape said, "Fries for the little boy, and the lady wishes…" He looked at Emily, who was quickly scanning the menu by now.

"O dear, I haven't had the time to look at the menu yet," she muttered.

Justin had joined them again. "You take squid," he said. "My mommy likes squid too." There was an understanding exchange of looks between Emily and Snape.

"No, no," Emily said hastily. "No squid for me. I can't eat squid. I'll have the… vegetarian menu please."

"And give us a good bottle of wine," Snape said.

Things went well. Whether it was the wine or his charms, or perhaps both, but Emily really loosened up. She was all ears to his stories, her cheeks were red and he couldn't get enough of looking at her. Justin didn't have the patience to sit with them, and he came by occasionally to eat another bite. It suited Snape just fine.

By the time he ordered the second bottle of wine, she had already put her hand over his hand a couple of times, and when that bottle was almost empty, her foot was rubbing his foot under the table. Her eyes were smashing in the candlelight, and when he told her that, her cheeks were so red that he was afraid they would set fire. 

"So, is there… a Mrs Snape?" Emily suddenly asked. One of her perfect fingers was trailing the brim of her glass.

"No there's not," Snape replied. "Not yet, that is. I'm still looking for the right person. She could be anywhere. She could even be in, let's say, a restaurant at the moment." He pushed back a strand of hair at his temple, knowing that that did the trick with many women. She was wiping a little piece of fried potato from a corner of her mouth. Her eyes above the napkin had such a promising look, that he felt like ravishing her right there and then. Time to slow down a bit. He decided to change the subject.

"Just out of curiosity, but why did you say that you can't eat squid?" he asked.

"Oh, I don't know," she said, looking a little shy. "It's just this thing I have with squids. I like them so much. Did you know they are really intelligent animals? They're actually able to screw the lid off a jar all by themselves."

"Well, not from the inside, clearly," Snape chuckled, thinking of his supply of potion ingredients on his shelves. Never had one of his squids been running away, for all he knew.

She looked at him puzzled. "Why on earth would anyone want to put a squid inside a jar?" she asked. Snape started to laugh. "I don't know, I just imagined they couldn't," he said.

"But seriously," Emily continued, "Sometimes I think being a squid isn't all that bad. They're not beautiful, but clever. When you're a squid, you've got all the space in the water that you need, and no one will condemn you for your looks."

"Not to mention the advantage of the possession of eight arms," Snape replied.

She laughed heartily. "I hadn't thought of that, but that would be convenient… in certain circumstances. Now I really wished I were a squid!"

Justin had joined them again for a quick bite. He smiled happily at them, and was off again. 

When Justin was gone, Emily gave Snape a quick smile with just one corner of her mouth. Snape thought it was the sexiest smile he'd ever seen. She was hooked. She definitely was hooked. 

He leaned forward and touched her hand. "I have to tell you something." She looked up, partly curious, partly smiling. He knew she only pretended to be curious; she obviously knew what he was about to say. "I was thinking, what if you and I would—"

POOF!!!!

There was a large cloud of smoke. Her hand had changed under his hand. It didn't feel soft anymore; it felt long, thin and… slimy. With no fingers but… 

When the smoke cleared up, Emily was gone. Quickly Severus stood up. Instead of Emily, a large squid was on the chair. Two of its tentacles were on the table, one of it was holding a knife. Two other tentacles were dangling off the chair, like legs. The other four were waving incoherently from side to side. This was a squid in shock.

Snape took his eyes from the squid-that-had-been-Emily and slowly turned around. There stood Justin, with a wand in his hand. Snapes wand. He must have taken it out of Snapes pocket. Justin was looking at the squid with a mighty triumphant look. "I did it, I did it uncle Sev!" Then the kid saw the look on Snapes face and stood still.

"Justin…" Snape stepped forward and Justin backed away.

"What, uncle Sev? Didn't I do good? She said she wanted to be a squid. I helped her!" 

"Justin!" Snape repeated. He grabbed the boy and clenched his fists around his wrists, taking back the wand.

"Auch! Uncle Sev, you're hurting me!"

"JUSTIIIIIIIIIN!!!!!!"


	7. About Taking A Bath

A/N: This is it, the final chapter. Story's definetely over now. Thanks for all the reviews, I'm glad I made you all laugh. And please, tell me if you liked the ending…

Oh, and just in case, perhaps some of you were wondering if Emily was right about what she said about squids. I can assure you that Emily knew what she was talking about: squids ARE intelligent animals, and they CAN learn how to screw the lid off a jar. Check it out on http://www.nwf.org/nationalwildlife/armed.html and discover the unknown life of squids :-)

Have fun. Thanks for reading:

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Chapter seven: About Taking A Bath

"Hi mommy!" Justin cried out. Snape looked up from his potions book. Out of the hearth came the head of a woman, looking into his office.

"Please, do come in, Ernestine," said Snape. "You're blocking my chimney this way."

With a quick movement, a large woman stepped into Severus' office. Everything was large about her; she was tall, big-breasted, and also her nose was big; it was a family thing.

Ernestine brushed the soot off her robe and said: "Since when have you lit a fire in your hearth?"

"Since the boy's here," Snape said. "He gets cold otherwise."

"O, rubbish," Ernestine said. "We never light a fire at home. Otherwise we don't attract that much lightning. Hi kiddo," she added, as she quickly ran her hand through Justin's hair. "Had fun?"

Justin smiled at her, and then resumed his drawing. 

"Such a moving mother and child reunion," Snape said dryly.

"So, tell me Sev," Ernestine said, as she let herself fall into a chair, that cracked dangerously under her weight. "Did everything go well this week?"

"Everything went quite well, considering the fact that you left Justin with me without any notice before."

The woman held her hands up in the air. "How could I?" she cried out. "If I knew where and when the thunderstorms start, I'd be making lots of money at the Weather Channel." 

"So, how did your lightning spell work out?" Snape said, ignoring her anger.

"Well, what'll I say. There have been things… happening… that shouldn't have happened, let's just say that." Ernestine shook her head. "We had to modify so many Muggle's memories, I've lost count of them. But at least now nobody will notice that a certain species in a certain lake has gone missing. Can you believe the chances of lightning actually hitting The monster of Loch Ness?"

"That's definitely a small chance," Snape pointed out.

"Yes, I know. To be precise, one out of twenty-five million, thirty-three thousand, four-hundred and twenty seven. Is that small or what? Hey, what's that?" Ernestine had got up and was looking at a jar on Severus' desk. "Well, this is a big squid! Is this for dinner?" 

"No," Severus said. "Not for dinner, it's for—"

"That's Emily," Justin stated, as he looked up from his piece of parchment.

Ernestine turned round and looked at Snape with a mixture of astonishment and pity. "You NAME them?" she said.

"It's… for my potions," Snape said, hoping the short pause wouldn't be noticed by his cousin. "I classify them, otherwise everything becomes a chaos. This year, I'm using 'E'.

"Is that so?" Ernestine said distractedly, as she leaned over to peer through the thick glass of the jar. "This one looks tasty, though. You might consider eating it. I'm starving!"

"No, I'm sorry to tell you that my potion ingredients are not to be used for breakfast, lunch or dinner," Snape said icily. "Which brings me to remember that you owe me a bottle of unicorn milk that your son drank."

"You drank UNICORN MILK?" Ernestine rushed over to Justin and hugged him. "Well done, honey, that's so HEALTHY! And he doesn't even like milk, normally," she added, looking at Snape.

"Well, apparently he's picky," Snape said. "And when you're hungry, I'm sure the house elves can get you anything you like."

"Oh, no," Ernestine said, and waved her hand. "We've got to go anyway. Come on, Justin, daddy's waiting. Give Uncle Sev a big kiss and say thank you!"

The little boy jumped off his chair and started to walk toward Severus.

"Yes, yes, that's all right," Severus said quickly. "Now off you go."

But Justin wasn't that easily stopped. "Bye Uncle Sev," he said, as he firmly embraced Severus' knees. Then he walked over to the jar at the desk. "Bye Emily," he said, and softly knocked against the glass.

Ernestine laughed. "I'd swear that that squid is waving at you, Justin," she said. "Now come with me!"

She threw some floo powder in the fire, and with a quick movement they both disappeared.

For some seconds, Snape remained entirely still. Then he slowly turned round and calmly stepped toward his desk. He sat down onto his chair and was now at eye level with the squid. The squid looked at him with her large eyes, slowly swaying her tentacles back and forth in the water.

Snape sighed. "I can't say this enough, but I'm deeply, deeply sorry," he said. "Sorry about what Justin did. Sorry about that I've lied to you. And… sorry that I can't change you back."

The squid's eyes seemed to grow even bigger. "No Emily," he continued, "I've thought this through, but I can't change you back. It's too dangerous. Never has a Muggle suddenly appeared inside Hogwarts. And because you can't see it when you're Muggle shaped, well, who knows what will happen?" 

The squid obviously didn't agree with that, for she violently shook her head, and splashed onto the water with her tentacles. 

"Don't you see?" Snape asked. "It's for your own good, Emily. I don't want you to be lost somewhere. Besides, I've become quite… attached to you." Softly, he stroke the thick glass of the jar. Inside it, Emily looked intensely at him, with her blue eyes, and seemed to be waiting for more explanation.

"Merlin's teeth, you're still beautiful, do you know that?" Snape said softly. "I don't know what it is about you, but I believe you're the most beautiful squid I've ever seen." He placed his hand against the glass and left it there. "Emily, what have you got to lose?" he said. "You quit your job, you didn't want to go back at it anyway. And now you're an intelligent squid. And beautiful as well. Is that so bad? Besides… I still want you. I do, Emily." 

One moment, the squid was hesitating, then it slowly brought one of her tentacles toward his hand, and cautiously started to caress his hand, through the glass. Snape moaned softly. "So erotic," he whispered. "Even through the glass. Emily, I've…" He paused and looked hesitatingly at Emily. She seemed to look at him somewhat curious, and had withdrawn her tentacle, waiting for what he had to say.

"This is not easy for me," he continued, rubbing his forehead, "But I've thought it over, and it seems it's the only way in which we both still can have… something together." He sighed. Then he got up, and lifted the large jar from the table. He carried it to his bath room, where he had filled the bath with cold water. He placed the jar into the bath, and screwed the lid off. For one brief moment, Emily stayed inside the jar. Then she quickly swum out of it, and into the large bath tub. She was stretching her tentacles, as if she was relieved to finally have the space that she wanted.

Quickly, Snape took his wand out of the pocket of his robe. Then he undressed himself. He stepped into the bath, closed his eyes, wove his wand, muttered a spell, and suddenly there were two squids in the bath tub. Carefully, the male squid placed its wand at a place where he could reach it later on. Then he looked at Emily. She was invitingly waving her eight arms at him.

The end.


End file.
